‘An “unhappy Man” vs. the “pursuit of Happiness”’

    

The Sunday Times

Mr. Cole Tomas Allen of California, an unhappy man, is in custody after a failed attempt on President Donald Trump’s life hours ago at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner in Washington, DC.

A good (and familiar) question was posed the other day on Faceypage and, since the semiquincentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is near, I thought I’d expand my limited answer to that query for this edition of The Magpie Mason.

Bro. Thomas of Thornton Lodge 486 in Texas asks:

“Can someone please explain whether or not the 3rd paragraph of the EA Charge is actually a charge or a suggestion?”

Knowing nothing about any ritual(s) promulgated by the Grand Lodge of Texas, I didn’t know what might be communicated in the third paragraph of his lodge’s Entered Apprentice Charge, but the abundant replies to his question clarified that for me. In New York, we actually have two charges from which to choose to instruct the youngest Entered Apprentice. The first charge includes the following (although it’s the fourth graf):

In the State you are to be a quiet and peaceable citizen, true to your government and just to your country. You are not to countenance disloyalty or rebellion, but are patiently to submit to legal authority, and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live.

As an aside, I’ll point out how this echoes in our Installation of Officers. In seating the new Worshipful Master, he must agree to fifteen commands, including:

II. You agree to be a peaceful citizen, and cheerfully conform to the laws of the country in which you reside.

III. You promise not to be concerned in plots or conspiracies against the government, but patiently submit to the law and the constituted authorities.

IV. You agree to pay a proper respect to the civil magistrates, to work diligently, live creditably, and act honorably by all men.

None of the above are Masonic secrets. The EA Charge is not protected by oath; the Ancient Charges and Regulations for the lodge’s new Master can be heard by all who witness the ceremony, which often is attended by our families and friends. What wisely was kept confidential were Thomas’ reasons for asking, as he did not reveal personal political opinions or why he might take being a peaceable citizen as merely a suggestion for Masons.

Anyway, here is my long form Magpie answer:

I wouldn’t think any part of a charge would be discretionary, but that [third paragraph] part most definitely is a command that reverberates through history.

The idea enters Masonic ritual via The Rev. James Anderson’s book The Constitutions of the Free-Masons from 1723, the jurisprudence (although it contains other content) of the premier Grand Lodge of England.

The best known, most frequently cited portion of that book is “The Charges of a Free-Mason.” Not only is this section kept current by the United Grand Lodge of England, but also we find this section reproduced in the pages of grand lodges’ law books all over the world. We New Yorkers can read it on page 57 of Masonic Law of New York. Freemasons who don’t know Anderson’s Constitutions should read it because it informs much of what we think, say, and do in our lodges. (This will be covered in what I’ll present to the Observant lodges of Oklahoma when I step to the lectern on St. John’s Day.)

Charge I, “Concerning God and Religion,” is credited by some historians for partly inspiring the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but Charge II is our topic today, to wit (spelling modernized):

II. Of the Civil Magistrate supreme and subordinate.

 

A Mason is a peaceable Subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concerned in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry has been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so ancient Kings and Princes have been much disposed to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and Loyalty, whereby they practically answered the Cavils of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honor of the Fraternity, whoever flourished in Times of Peace. So that if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State, he is not to be countenanced in his Rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other Crime, though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it remains indefeasible.

Click to enlarge.

You see the similarities to the charges shown above. This is whence they came.

Anderson’s book also contains a legendary history of Freemasonry, some of which is factual, some fanciful. Among the reliably accurate notes is mention of English laws dating to the Middle Ages. In England, the various Statutes of Laborers regulated stone masons’ qualifications, remuneration, ability to meet, and other details, but the statute of 1405 specifically compelled such workers to take an annual oath to comply with the law. Anderson writes (spelling modernized):

Now though in the third Year of the said King Henry VI, while an Infant of about four Years old, the Parliament made an Act, that affected only the WORKING Masons, who had, contrary to the Statutes for Laborers, confederated not to work but at their own Price and Wages; and because such Agreements were supposed to be made at the General Lodges, called in the Act: Chapters and Congregations of Masons, it was then thought expedient to level the said Act against the said Congregations: Yet when the said King Henry VI arrived to Man’s Estate, the Masons laid before him and his Lords the above-mentioned Records and Charges, who, tis plain, reviewed them, and solemnly approved of them as good and reasonable to be holden: Nay, the said King and his Lords must have been incorporated with the Free-Masons, before they could make such Review of the Records; and in this Reign, before King Henry’s Troubles, Masons were much encouraged. Nor is there any Instance of executing that Act: in that, or in any other Reign since, and the Masons never neglected their Lodges for it, nor ever thought it worthwhile to employ their NOBLE and EMINENT BRETHREN to have it repealed; because the working Masons, that are free of the Lodge, scorn to be guilty of such Combinations; and the other free Masons have no Concern in Trespasses against the Statutes for Laborers.

Stone masons’ literature of the 1400s, namely the Regius Poem, communicates the same thinking. The marvelous website of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon still shows the poem and the modern translation from 1923 by Bro. Roderick Baxter of QC2076, including:

In more recent years, Masons’ practice of being peaceable citizens has proven valuable in inoculating the Craft from suspicion. For example, when the Irish Republican Army seized the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in Dublin exactly 104 years ago, they relinquished control of the property (after six weeks) because Michael Collins and Arthur Griffiths were satisfied that Irish Freemasonry was apolitical and nonsectarian, despite its fraternal connection to England. More information on that here.

National Archives

What about the Declaration of Independence? The American Revolution placed Freemasons here in rebellion and war against their king. That’s not very peaceful! How did our Masonic ancestors, the famous and the obscure alike, square their commitment to the Craft with their revolution? Benjamin Franklin knew about Anderson. The first Masonic book printed in the New World was Franklin’s reprint of Anderson’s Constitutions in 1734.

Perhaps Anderson’s Charge II sometimes must be a romantic ideal, something aspirational, that has to be suspended when considering “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” for yourself and your posterity. America’s Founders, whether Masons or not, did not see the distant British king as their civil authority. After all, the colonists had no representation in Parliament. There were sympathizers (Bro. Edmund Burke and others), but that’s not the same as electing your own MPs. Meanwhile, the colonists here did elect local representatives and were used to having their say in government.

In addition, we would be wise to consider that Anderson wrote for his time. (He’d be stunned to hear us talking about him 300 years later.) 1723 was early in the Hanoverian era, the dawn of which finally concluded decades of political violence in England. Think about what happened there between 1640 and 1721. Some of the major points:

➢ The Long Parliament

➢  Civil War

➢  Regicide of Charles I

➢  Cromwell

➢  The Restoration

➢  Glorious Revolution

➢  Bill of Rights

➢  The Act of Union

➢  The Hanoverian Succession

➢  Bro. Walpole as Prime Minister

There’s stability by 1723. The Grand Lodge, desiring royal patronage, wants to be known as being supportive of the constitutional monarchy, and so codifies its peaceful intentions, noting their historical basis.

Other replies to Bro. Thomas’ question on Thursday placed the Declaration of Independence at odds with the EA Charge, and even hinted it may be time to knock off this peaceful citizen business. (It appears those remarks have vanished.) But there is a valid historical question: How can Anderson’s “unhappy Man” and Jefferson’s “pursuit of Happiness” be reconciled?

     

‘Ric Berman’s new book’

    

Ric Berman has a new book out. Well, maybe not brand new. The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry, released last week, is a reworking of scholarship he published previously, but it delivers new findings. If you can’t get to Philly today for his appearance at the Masonic Temple, buy this book. From the publicity:

Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and its connections to science and the Enlightenment, “Free and Accepted” Masonry became part of Britain’s national profile and the largest and most influential of its many clubs and societies.

The organization did not evolve naturally from the medieval guilds and religious orders, but was reconfigured radically by a self-appointed inner core of members of London’s most influential lodges. Freemasonry became a vehicle for their philosophical and political views and the “Craft” attracted an aspirational membership across the middling and gentry.

Through an examination of previously unexplored primary documents, The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry contributes to an understanding of English political and social culture and explores how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment and connected the metropolitan and provincial elites. Ric Berman explores multiple networks centered on the aristocracy, Parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, and provides pen portraits of key individuals. This third, extended, edition includes an examination of the origins of Antients Freemasonry and the seminal influence of Laurence Dermott and the London Irish, taking the reader through to 1813, when the Moderns and Antients grand lodges merged to form the United Grand Lodge of England.

The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry has been described as one of the most important books on Freemasonry published in recent times, providing “a precise, social context for the invention of English Freemasonry.” Ric Berman has delivered an essential reference work that throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what would become a national and international phenomenon.

Publisher:‎ The Old Stables Press

Publication date: April 14, 2026

Language:‎ English

Print length: 317 pages

ISBN-10: 1739170857

ISBN-13: 978-1739170851

Ric Berman researches, writes, and speaks on eighteenth and nineteenth-century English, Irish and American Freemasonry. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is the author of numerous journal articles and ten books, and has delivered keynote lectures worldwide. Ric holds an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter, respectively, and undertook post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford’s Modern European History Research Centre.

A Freemason for more than forty years and twice Prestonian Lecturer, VW Bro. Ric holds Grand Rank in the United Grand Lodge of England and is a Past Master of three English lodges, including Quatuor Coronati, the premier lodge of Masonic research. He is also an American Freemason, a member and honorary member of lodges in seven states, a Blue Friar, and a Fellow of the Philalethes Society. He was the Texas Lodge of Research’s Anson Jones Lecturer in 2023.

Born in London, Ric lives in rural Oxfordshire.

Get it from your favorite bookseller and be the envy of your research lodge.

     

‘Visiting Vitruvian for St. John’s Day’

    

“Architects should be educated, skillful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, know much history, have followed the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge of medicine, know the opinions of the jurists, and be acquainted with astronomy and the theory of the heavens.”

— Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

If you will be near Tulsa on St. John Baptist Day, I hope you’ll buy a ticket to the Observant lodge festive board being hosted that evening by Vitruvian 557.

This will be a joint effort by the four Observant lodges, with a fifth in the making, in the Sooner State. An auspicious affair for which the hosts inexplicably have invited me to be keynote speaker.

I will present a brand new discussion—so new, I’m just now writing it (but have been drafting mentally for months)—on how certain eighteenth century Masonic literature informs what we, as Free and Accepted Masons, think, say, and do in lodge.

I have no familiarity with their ritual, aside from seeing the Oklahoma Masonic Indian Degree Team exemplify work years ago, so I hope this subject “works” out.

How can you not love a state that includes
a smoking pipe in its flag design?

Vitruvian 557 meets in Broken Arrow.

I’ll provide ticketing and time & place info when it becomes available.

     

‘Master Mason “Farm” Degree this Fall’

    

Connecticut’s third eldest lodge will be back on the farm later this year for a conferral of the Third Degree.

I know, I know. I’m sorry. We’re two months from the start of summer, but here I am promoting an event slated for the third day of autumn, but I just added it to my calendar and thought maybe you would want to make a note of it also.

From the publicity:

Fidelity St. John’s Farm Degree

Tickets here. Fidelity St. John’s Farm Degree 2026 gathers Masons and guests for a special outdoor degree that reflects our commitments to brotherhood, charity, and truth.

By completing this form, you help us plan a respectful, well‑organized event in keeping with Masonic tradition—ensuring every candidate and visitor is received with care and dignity.

I’ve never attended one of these. I am curious to see how the brethren square the informal setting with the solemnity and consequence of the Sublime Degree. I trust them. (The sun will set just minutes before the start of the second section of the degree.)

     

‘Virginia: Reunion of the Founding Lodges’

    

I’m not sure if this is an annual or more occasional event in Virginia, but next month Fredericksburg Lodge 4 will host the 2026 Reunion of the Founding Lodges.

As you know, the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia began to take shape in May 1777, when a meeting of Masons, dubbed deputies, from the diverse lodges was suggested with the idea of choosing a grand master and organizing a grand lodge for Virginia. On Tuesday the 13th, the group was organized, with deputies from Blandford, Cabin Point Royal Arch, Kilwinning Port Royal Crosse, Norfolk, and Williamsburg lodges meeting at that last lodge’s location.

The Commonwealth of Virginia became independent from British rule on June 29 of the previous year, even preceding the “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America” that would be promulgated from Philadelphia on the Fourth of July. But the Masonic consideration of this convention of Freemasons was the nature of authority in the Craft. At that moment, these lodges held charters from the grand lodges of England, Ireland, Pennsylvania, Scotland, and one denominated “America,” according to those meeting minutes. (That last one, I believe, refers to North Carolina.)

Our ancestors here simply wanted local authority to make decisions concerning the fraternity “should any abuses creep into the Lodges, or should any body of the Brotherhood be desirous of forming a new Lodge.” Their reasoning on how to create a new grand lodge simply was based on how the grand lodges in England, Ireland, and Scotland had organized themselves through their own respective sovereignties.

This convention adjourned and reconvened June 23, 1777, again at Williamsburg. The deputies agreed to recommend to their lodges and to all other lodges in Virginia that “His Excellency General George Washington as a proper person to fill the office of Grand Master.” This was two and a half years before the brethren at American Union Lodge in New Jersey attempted to make Washington the grand master of the entire country’s Freemasons. Of course, neither initiative came to fruition.

Fast forward to October 13, 1778, and John Blair, Past Master of Williamsburg Lodge, was elected Grand Master. On October 30, he was installed “into the office of Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Virginia.” (Note no “Ancient.”)

But enough history. On May 16, Fredericksburg 4 will host this event. From the publicity:

Reunion of the Founding Lodges

Saturday, May 16

Fredericksburg, Virginia

This special gathering will bring together brethren and guests, including ladies, from across the Commonwealth for an evening of fellowship, history, and shared tradition in the place where our story began. Please share with your lodge and brethren.

Highlights

• Keynote Address by Most Worshipful Jeff Hodges

• Private viewing of the George Washington Masonic Obligation Bible

• Guided tours of Fredericksburg Lodge 4

• Fredericksburg Area Museum America 250 exhibit with curator-led interpretation

• Festive Board with formal toasts and fellowship

Schedule

2 p.m. – Lodge open for tours

4 p.m. – Museum Tour (Group 1)

4:45 p.m. – Museum Tour (Group 2)

6 p.m. – Social Hour

7 p.m. – Dinner

7:45 p.m. – Festive Board

Festive Board tickets are available here.

We look forward to welcoming brethren and guests from the Founding Lodges and across the Commonwealth as we gather in fellowship and continue the traditions entrusted to us.

I’d love to check this out, but I’ll be with The American Lodge of Research that day for our joint meeting with Ulster Lodge 193 in Saugerties.

     

‘Washington inauguration next week’

    

Re-Enactment

of Brother George Washington’s

First Presidential Inauguration

on its 237th Anniversary

Thursday, April 30 at 11:45 a.m.

Federal Hall

26 Wall Street

New York City

This bronze of George Washington was erected in 1882 near where he was sworn in.

New York Freemasonry commemorates the momentous day when Brother George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States in 1789, bringing to life the unprecedented federal office of an elected Chief Executive as established by the U.S. Constitution two years earlier.

With his hands upon the altar bible of St. John’s Lodge, brought to City Hall for the inauguration by Bro. Jacob Morton, Master of the Lodge, Bro. Washington was sworn by Bro. Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of New York and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. After taking the oath of office, Washington bowed, kissed the holy book, and, initiating a tradition followed by many of his successors into the twenty-first century, appended to that oath a phrase known to all Freemasons: “So help me God.”

The famous Bible. Washington placed his hands on Genesis 49-50.

The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York recreates this civil ceremony each year. While the first City Hall is long gone, today’s Federal Hall stands on that site, and we invite everyone to experience this historically correct re-enactment of forty-five minutes.

The Grand Lodge of New York sponsors this commemoration through its George Washington Inaugural Reenactment Committee, under the chairmanship of R.W. Teodulo Henriquez, R.W. Martin Kanter, and R.W. J. Scott Nagel.

The Most Worshipful Steven Adam Rubin, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, with a retinue of Grand Lodge Officers, will be in attendance. The Color Guard will be provided by the Masonic War Veterans, the Sons of the Revolution of New York, the Veterans Corps of America, and the Knickerbocker Greys.

Masonic Lodges, individual Masons, families, and friends are invited to our hospitality room for refreshments afterward. Please make reservations by writing R.W. Nagel here.

Detail from a Currier & Ives piece.

Read more about that day that changed the world, and that rhetorical flourish added to the oath of office, here.

     

‘Founding of Semiquincentennial Lodge 250’

    

Rhode Island might not come to mind immediately when contemplating the Revolutionary War*, but their Grand Lodge has devised the novel way of celebrating America250 by chartering a “lodge of commemoration” to be at labor for the coming year.

From the publicity:

Semiquincentennial Lodge 250

Reflect on the Past

Celebrate the Present

Hope for the Future

Semiquincentennial Lodge 250 is chartered as a commemorative lodge dedicated to the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence.

The tenets of Freemasonry have influenced the principles of freedom, equality, justice, and courage that are the foundation of our nation.

Semiquincentennial Lodge 250 celebrates the universality of Freemasonry and the importance of the tenets of our Craft to people throughout the world. It is a lodge that is open to and welcomes, both literally and figuratively, Freemasons wheresoever dispersed.

Semiquincentennial Lodge 250 will be opened officially with the presentation of the charter at the Grand Lodge Annual Meeting on May 18, 2026. All attending the Annual Meeting will receive a copy of this keepsake document.

Semiquincentennial Lodge 250 will be called to recess, but may be called to labor any time during the year at the will and pleasure of its Worshipful Master. The lodge will be officially closed at the Grand Lodge Annual Meeting in May 2027.

Program for May 2

Open Semi-Public

Occasional Grand Lodge

Rick Baccus

Most Worshipful Grand Master

Invocation

Pledge of Allegiance

Prologue and Guiding Principles

Stephen E. Mitchell

Past Grand Master

Reflect on the Past

Raymond A. Geer

Grand Historian

Celebrate the Present

Timothy L. Culhane

Director of Masonic Education

Hope for the Future

Joshua A. Irizarry, Past Master

St. Johns Lodge 1

Providence

Three Voices, One Spirit

Stephen E. Mitchell

Past Grand Master

Formal Presentation of the Petition

to Establish Semiquincentennial Lodge 250 

Gilbert J. Fontes, Jr.

Deputy Grand Master

Introduction of Grand Lodge Officers

and Guests

Benediction

Close Lodge

Rick Baccus

Most Worshipful Grand Master

Petition for charter

May 2, 2026A.D. | 6026A.L.

To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations:

Bro. Rick Baccus, M∴ W∴ Grand Master

The undersigned, petitioners, being, Free and Accepted Master Masons, having the prosperity of the Fraternity at heart, and willing to exert their best endeavors to promote and diffuse the genuine principles of Masonry, respectfully represent,

That, to Honor the Contributions of Freemasons to the Prosperity of our State and Nation and for other good reasons, they are desirous of forming a Lodge of Commemoration within this jurisdiction, to be named Semiquincentennial Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M.

Therefore, they pray for letters of dispensation, or a warrant of constitution, to empower them to assemble as a legal Lodge, to discharge the duties of Masonry in a regular and constitutional manner, according to the original forms of the order, and the regulations of the Grand Lodge.

Scheduled Events

May 2 - The Founding of Semiquincentennial Lodge 250

May 18 - Grand Lodge Annual with issuing of Charter of Semiquincentennial Lodge 250

August TBA - Grand Lodge Picnic and Flag Ceremony

September 27 (tentative) - Time Capsule and Liberty Tree Planting

September 30 - Collegium Luminosum: Speaker on Rhode Island Masonic History

November 14 - Revolutionary Table Lodge

* In all fairness, it is said Freemasons from St. John’s Lodge in Providence were key to the destruction of the HMS Gaspee on June 10, 1772, a dangerous act of tax rebellion a year and a half before the Boston Tea Party.

     

‘The Low Vale Degree’

    

Click to enlarge.

I have too many Masonic Saturdays next month, so I’m on the fence—a stretch of Virginia Worm, if you will—about attending this outdoor degree, but it sounds like a terrific night.

Good Samaritan 336 is the lodge right on Lincoln Square in Gettysburg I keep telling you about. In addition to regular doings, the brethren host dinners with period menus, attire, and re-enactors to celebrate their famous town’s heritage. I don’t believe their Low Vale Degree is an annual event, but they have hosted these previously.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm is a local attraction, having served as the headquarters of Confederate Major General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson, who commanded a division that failed to take Culp’s Hill from the U.S. Army. (Read his report here.) Inevitably, it became a hospital for the rebels. They say blood stains are still visible.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm

This weekend, Lady Farm is hosting its Civil War Scout Immersion, two days of workshops on military drill, battle formations, and tactics, culminating in a battle re-enactment.

And the Fellow Craft Degree? If you are not aware, the rituals of Pennsylvania Freemasonry are different from whatever yours may be. They’re not bizarre; you will have no difficulty understanding what unfolds because the ritual elements are consistent, but that Grand Lodge’s work is unique in the country. My research over the years caused me to read that Pennsylvania ritual is akin to one found in northern England, but I have no firsthand experience out there to corroborate. Yet.

Obviously, Apprentices would not be admitted to this Second Degree of Freemasonry.

Historic Daniel Lady Farm

The lodge will be opened and closed with cannon fire. I mean artillery, not Vivat! drinking. The meal will be catered by Blue and Gray Bar & Grill, which is another reason to attend. If you choose not to join the group for dinner, the ticket price will be $30.

This May 30 event does not land on Memorial Day Weekend, if that conflict might deter you. The holiday weekend will be the previous week.

     

‘Amazing Academy of Humanities at Jerusalem 26’

    

Click to enlarge.

There is something amazing in New Jersey Freemasonry. Jerusalem Lodge 26 in Plainfield is hosting diverse events connecting the Craft with the Humanities.

Of course, this should be happening in all lodges, but it isn’t, which is why Jerusalem’s Academy of Humanities instruction and enlightenment is so remarkable. Here’s what’s upcoming:

Academy of Humanities recent events included:

➢ The Glory of Geometry

➢ Great Masonic Writers

➢ Accessing the Divine Through Music

And there’s emphasis on music—opera!

➢ The Magic Flute

➢ Die Fledermaus

➢ Hansel and Gretel

➢ Anna Bolena

➢ Don Giovanni

Plus, there are tutorials on sartorial style, manners, and other gentlemanly needs to which today’s man otherwise might not have direct access. Sure, there are all kinds of internet content and books, but these events make the quest for self-development a brotherly journey.

I doubt David Palladino-Sinclair would claim all the due credit for this initiative, but it is his brainchild.

And check out the book club!

Huzzah!

     

‘Sacramento: Freemasonry and the Declaration of Independence’

    

Speaking of conferences in California (see post below), the Scottish Rite bodies of Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Stockton will host an educational celebration of America’s 250th anniversary this summer. From the publicity:

Freemasonry and the Ideals

of the Declaration of Independence

Saturday, August 8

Sacramento Scottish Rite

Masonic Center

6151 H Street, Sacramento

Click here

Speakers include Dr. Richard “Ric” Berman, Dr. John Cooper, and Dr. Susan Sommers.

Ric Berman researches and speaks on English, Irish, and American Freemasonry, with a focus on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He has written numerous journal articles and some ten books and has given keynote talks worldwide. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Ric holds a master’s degree in economics and a doctorate in history from the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter, respectively, following which he spent two years post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford.

Ric has been a Freemason for more than forty years and has twice been the United Grand Lodge of England’s Prestonian Lecturer. He holds Grand Rank in the UGLE and is a Past Master of three English lodges, including Quatuor Coronati Lodge, the premier lodge of Masonic research, and chairs the QC Correspondence Circle, the oldest Masonic Research Society in the world. Ric is also an American Freemason, a member or honorary member of lodges in six states, a Fellow of the Philalethes Society and a member of the Society of Blue Friars.

A Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California, John Cooper is the former Master of three California research lodges and a past President of the Philalethes Society–America’s oldest and largest Masonic research organization. He has presented papers at international conferences on the history of Freemasonry, and is a published author. John was a public school teacher and administrator, including a tour of duty as superintendent of a high school district in San Diego County before coming to San Francisco to become Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of California. He served in the latter position for eighteen years and was president of the Conference of Grand Secretaries. In 2013 he was elected as Grand Master of Masons in California and during his term as Grand Master he served as Chairman of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America.

John has a master’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate University. His main research interests are in the history of ideas, and the interaction of Freemasonry with political society. He is a Thirty-Third Degree Mason in the Scottish Rite, and is a Knight of the York Grand Cross of Honor. He also has held leadership positions in many of the smaller rites and degrees of Freemasonry.

Susan Mitchell Sommers, Professor Emeritus of History, Saint Vincent College, has been calling it like it is since her first year on the history faculty in 1993. At that time, there were few women teaching at Saint Vincent College and Susan brought the hidden lives of everyday people into the light, from small town citizens to Freemasons in esoteric communities. In her teaching she developed what she calls the Oatmeal Theory of History, which showcases the challenges and recognizes the importance of studying history as the stuff that both radically changes lives while those lives also appear to stand still. She explains to students that for thousands of years our ancestors got up every morning, ate a bowl of oatmeal and then went out into the fields to cultivate oats. Then they came home, ate a bowl of oatmeal and went to sleep. For thousands of years. But if we taught about that in history classes everyone would all get up and leave, even though it is the way things actually happened. We speed things up, highlight the changes, make history seem far more exciting than it generally was for the people living it. So, while Susan may talk about the Scientific Revolution or Spanish Civil War as times of sweeping change, she reminds us that most people were still eating oatmeal and growing oats.

Susan has published four books, forty articles, more than a dozen book reviews, and has delivered countless presentations. Her main teaching and research interests are in British and intellectual history, especially of the eighteenth century. Her publications include book-length studies of Freemasonry, esotericism and small-town parliamentary politics. Susan is working on a biography of Rev. James Anderson (1679-1739), a Presbyterian minister from Scotland who was responsible for the first book of Masonic constitutions in 1723. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Logistics and more here.

     

‘Call for Papers: 2027 International Conference on Freemasonry’

    

I see it’s on the Grand Master’s calendar, so it is official: The 15th International Conference on Freemasonry is set for March 6 of next year. Hosted by the Masons of California, it’ll be back in Los Angeles, this time at the UCLA Faculty Club.

The theme for 2027 will be “Scotland and Freemasonry: The High Road, the Low Road, and the Road Less Traveled.” Organizers have issued the call for papers, saying:

“We are now accepting proposals for academic paper presentations for the 15th International Conference on Freemasonry, sponsored by the Grand Lodge of California and the California Masonic Foundation. Topics are open, but should be closely matched to the theme of the conference. Successful proposals will adhere to academic standards of original research and composition, and pursue original analyses. Please send curriculum vitae and 500-word proposal to Susan Mitchell Sommers here.”

Bro. Erich Huhn, who serves as both The ALR’s Senior Deacon and NJ LORE’s Secretary, while pursuing a Ph.D. in History on nineteenth century American Freemasonry, was a speaker at this year’s conference just four weeks ago. Based on his account of the affair, it sounds like a pretty wild weekend! I imagine outside the lecture hall, sherry was tippled, monocles were steamed, laughter was…was audible!

Send in your précis!

Kudos to whoever devised the conference title. “The high road” and “the low road” call to mind the Scottish folk song “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond,” and “the road less traveled” reminds us of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, a California native and son of a Scottish immigrant mother.

And March 6, for that matter, is the Feast Day of St. Baldred, a hermit (therefore dear to my heart) of the eighth century who came to be known as the Apostle of the Lothians.